The news mentioned that the estimated bill for the Mt. Hood search was at $100,000 as of a couple of days ago. I suspect it's really a lot more than that. The reporter went on to say that Oregon taxpayers will be footing the bill.

I believe that charging people for SAR is not a good idea, unless you're dealing with a case of extreme negligence (e.g., oops, I activated my PLB because I have a stubbed toe). There should be provisions for that, and probably already are.

Plus, as others mentioned, if folks know they might be charged for SAR, they might not make the call. That's not a good mindset with people's lives in the balance. Imagine if you called 9-1-1 with a fire in your house, or an intruder breaking in. If the firefighters got to the house and the fire was out, or the intruder was gone, we wouldn't be to happy with paying a response fee.

Insurance seems like a better idea, at least for folks knowingly going into the backcountry to have an adventure. But then again, in the long term, involving insurance companies will eventually result in refusal to pay claims or insure someone because of what the insurance company deems to be an "extreme activity". Slowly that "extreme activity" will change from being a weeklong endurance trek to mountaineering, then from mountaineering to hiking, then from hiking to camping, and finally from camping to even having your four tires leave the pavement. So we'll be right back where we started.

I think the key is not more short-sighted regulation, not user fees and insurance, but education and allowing for the risk the outdoors provides. Sometimes people just don't make it. Hopefully they don't suffer and were doing what they loved to do.

Just because SAR is activated isn't a guarantee that someone will be found alive. In our push-button want-it-now society, I think we forget that there is not always a storybook ending where everyone lives happily ever after.

I believe the answer is right in front of us. It would be pretty easy for the USFS to rent out a PLB to groups of folks climbing Mt. Hood. Or just flat out require one, that way the USFS doesn't get involved in the liability. Local climbing and outdoors shops could rent them out and charge by the day. Or users could buy/bring their own. I think this would be the quickest and easiest solution. SAR teams wouldn't have to spent lots of time searching, and more lives (and taxpayer dollars) would hopefully be saved as a result of this.

Okay, off my soapbox... <img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />